GLORIFICATION

I Corinthians 15:51-53

Glorification is the third step in the justification-sanctification-glorification chain. In the Scripture the idea of glorification deals with the ultimate perfection of the believer. The word "glorification" is not used in the Hebrew Old Testament or the Greek New Testament, but the idea of glorification is suggested by the Greek verb doxazo ("glorify") and the noun doxa ("glory") as well as in passages that do not use any word from this root. Although the Old Testament may anticipate the theme to some extent (Psalm 73:24; Dan 12:3), the New Testament is more detailed in its development, making it explicit that believers will be glorified (Romans 8:17, 8:30; II Thess 1:12).

Our bodies will experience glorification. We will not be changed into some sort of spirit-entity as many of the cults teach. Jesus Himself demonstrated this when He appeared to the disciples after the resurrection (John 20:26-27; Luke 24:29). It is at the time of glorification that the sanctification process is fully complete, our bodies will be changed, the old sin nature will be eliminated, and we will see Christ in all his glory (II Corinthians 5:2-4).

Glorification is God's final removal of sin from the life of the saints in the eternal state (Romans 8:18; II Corinthians 4:17). At the Rapture when Jesus comes, the saints will undergo a fundamental, instant transformation (“we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” 1 Corinthians 15:51); then our corruptible bodies will put on incorruption immortality (1 Corinthians 15:53). II Corinthians 3:18 clearly indicates that, in a mysterious sense, “we all,” in the present, “with unveiled face” are “beholding the glory of the Lord” and are being transformed into His image “from one degree of glory to another” (II Corinthians 3:18). Lest anyone imagine that this beholding and transformation (as part of sanctification) is the work of especially saintly people, the Scripture adds the following admonition: “For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” In other words, it is a blessing bestowed on every believer. This does not refer to our final glorification, but to an aspect of sanctification by which the Spirit is transfiguring us right now. To Him be the praise for His work in sanctifying us in the Spirit and in truth (Jude 24-25; John 17:17; 4:23).

Glorification involves first of all the believer's sanctification or moral perfection (I Thess 2:13-14 ; Heb 2:10-11), in which the believer will be made glorious, holy, and blameless (Eph 5:27). The process of sanctification is at work in us now (I Cor 3:18 ) but moves from one degree of glory to another until it reaches final glory.

Second, the body participates in glorification (Rom 8:23; 1 Col 15:43; Php 3:21), which is the believer's deliverance and liberty (Rom 8:21). As a result, the glorified body is immortal (Rom 2:7), imperishable, powerful, and spiritual (1 Cor 15:43-44). Moreover, creation itself participates in this aspect of glorification (Rom 8:21).

In the third place, glorification brings participation in the kingdom of God (1 Thess 2:12 ), even to the point of our reigning with Christ (II Tim 2:10-12).

Finally, glorification is in some sense a partaking of God's own glory (Rom 5:2; 1 Thess 2:12 ; II Thess 2:14 ; 1 Peter 5:10).

Our appreciation of God's grace will be increased if we understand glorification in relationship to the other aspects of our salvation. The salvation Christ won for us is applied to us in stages, rather than all at once. The first stage is when God, through the preaching of the gospel calls us to repentance. God then justifies us. Justification is a legal act of God in which He forgives our sins, gives to us the righteousness of Christ, and declares us righteous in His sight.

At death (or the rapture) God completes our sanctification, and so removes all of our sins from our hearts and makes us perfectly holy. But even though our sanctification is complete at death, our salvation is not yet complete because we are still without our glorified resurrection bodies. These are given in the final stage of the application of our salvation, which is glorification. Then our salvation will be fully applied to us, and we will live forever in the new heavens and new earth as glorified saints, enjoying all of the benefits of salvation that Christ won for us.

Even though our bodies will be raised, Christians who die still go through a period of time when they exist apart from their bodies, called the intermediate state. When a believer dies his soul is separated from his body. His body remains on earth, but his soul immediately goes to be with Christ in heaven. We know this because Paul says that to be absent from the body at death is to be present with the Lord (II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23).

The Bible does not teach that our souls sleep in the period of time between death and the resurrection. Rather, upon death the believer goes right to heaven and experiences the great blessings of communion with Christ at a far deeper level than anything experienced on earth. Thus, Paul says that "to be with Christ is very much better" than living on earth.

But there is something even better than being with Christ in heaven as disembodied souls, being with Christ, in heaven, in our bodies. This seems to be what Paul is getting at in II Corinthians 5:4 when he says "we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed" (v-4) and that "[we] long to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven" (v-2). He is saying that the resurrection state will be so great that he wishes he could go right to it.

When a believer dies his spirit is separated from his body and goes to be with Christ. This intermediate state will be a very great joy, but the ultimate hope we are to look forward to is the even more joyful fellowship with Christ once our bodies are raised and reunited with our spirits.

It is important to understand that it is not only believers who will experience the resurrection of their bodies. All people will have their bodies raised. The difference is that believers will have their bodies raised to everlasting glory; unbelievers will have their bodies raised to everlasting destruction. There are many passages which teach that both believers and unbelievers will be raised. Acts 24:15 says, "There shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." Paul tells us how he applies this truth in the next verse: "In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men." John 5:28-29 says, "For an hour is coming , in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment." Unbelievers will thus suffer eternal punishment in their bodies, in hell: "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).

According to Philippians 3:20–21, our citizenship is in heaven, and when our Savior returns He will transform our lowly bodies “to be like His glorious body.” Although it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, we know that, when He returns in great glory, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). We will be perfectly conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus and be like Him in that our humanity will be free from sin and its consequences. Our blessed hope should spur us on to holiness, the Spirit enabling us. “Everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).